Woman After My Own Heart
by pewimsuchanerd
Summary: Twenty-one year old Harper is tired of her mentally damaging job at Joja Corporation, and desperately wants to get out of that office. Upon finding a letter from her grandfather, she moves to Stardew Valley and gives her best shot at the farm life. But after meeting some townspeople, she finds that one man in particular managed to catch her interest. (Shane x OC/Farmer)
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I posted this yesterday and wanted to add something, but forgot that I could just edit it, and deleted it instead. So it's back again, and I changed the title. Just a heads up :)**

* * *

"Life's better with Joja." I hate that slogan more than anything right now. Because quite frankly, life _isn't_ better with Joja. The whole corporation is piss-poor at best. I hate getting all upset and pissy about things (it rarely happens; I'm generally pretty kind and light-hearted), but this job has me in a horrible state. And being stuck working here for the past few years definitely wasn't something I intended.

I don't know how I managed to stay sane. I'd assume that everyone else here wasn't as lucky as me in that aspect, because when I look around office, all I see are people with the same happy smile. Maybe they're smiles that are overflowing with pain and sadness. Or, maybe they're signs of mind control. Regardless, none of those grins represent genuine happiness.

I've been finding ways to procrastinate on all of my work, even though it could possibly get me fired. That's a risk I'm willing to take. I'd rather be homeless than be stuck in this hellhole filled with potentially hypnotized people and computers that barley work.

Sighing, I open the desk drawer. I was hoping to find some paperwork that needed to be done, but I found something else instead. There was a white envelope with a nice-looking purple sticker keeping it from opening. I picked up the letter, curious about what was inside. To be honest, I haven't opened this drawer in at least a year, so I didn't even remember this envelope was in here.

I peeled off the sticker, and began reading the letter inside. It said:

 _"_ _Dear Harper,_

 _If you're reading this, you must be in dire need of a change. The same thing happened to me, long ago. I'd lost sight of what mattered most in life… real connections with other people and nature. So I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong._

 _I've enclosed the deed to that place… my pride and joy: Stardew Farm. It's located in Stardew Valley, on the southern coast. It's the perfect place to start your new life._

 _This was my most precious gift of all, and now it's yours. I know you'll honor the family name, my dear. Good luck._

 _Love, Grandpa._

 _PS: If Lewis is still alive, say hi to the old guy for me, will ya?"_

I guess I am in need of a change. I only wish I remembered this letter was in here; I would've opened it ages ago. Although, working on a farm is a pretty big step from working at Joja, but I'm willing to do it if it'll forever get me out of this office.

 _-Later...-_

When I first stepped out of the bus, I was greeted by a woman with short red hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. "Hi! You must be Harper." Her smile seemed real, unlike what I was used to back at Joja. "I'm Robin, the local carpenter. Mayor Lewis sent me here to fetch you and show you the way to your new home. He's there right now, tidying things up for your arrival. The farm's right over here, if you'll follow me."

I nodded, and followed her to the farm. It wasn't very far from the bus stop, no more than ten minutes. And what I thought would be an organized section of land, turned out to look like it was just hit by a hurricane. There were random pieces of stone and wood scattered everywhere, and the grass was out of control. It would surely take at least all of spring to get this cleaned up.

"Well, this is Stardew Farm," Robin looked at me as if this was nothing. "What's the matter?"

"It's… pretty messy, isn't it?" I replied. This should be rather obvious.

"Sure, it's a bit overgrown, but there's some good soil underneath that mess." Robin grinned. "With some dedication, I'm sure you'll have it cleaned up in no time."

Then, she walked me over to the house. It didn't look _that_ bad. It was a little small, and it did seem a little bit damaged, but it was still livable. "Here's your new home," Robin said, sounding a little too excited. I smiled back at her, about to respond. But before I could, the front door of my new home began to open. Out came an old-looking man, probably no older than seventy.

"The new farmer!" He walked down the few steps, and stood beside Robin and I. "Welcome! I'm Lewis, the mayor of Pelican Town. Everyone has been asking about you, ya know."

Grandpa wrote about someone named Lewis in his letter… Is this who he was talking about?

"It's not every day that someone new moves in! This is a big deal! You're moving into your grandfather's old cottage, right? It's a good house to start out with."

I guess the house is good, but others could say the word 'crusty' fits a little better.

Lewis spoke up again. "You must be tired, so you should get some rest. Tomorrow, you should introduce yourself to all of the townspeople. They're all dying to meet you. I think they'd appreciate it."

"Okay, I'm looking forward to it," I said. It's been quite a while since I've been able to meet new people, so this could be a good thing.

"Great! Well, good luck!" Lewis said enthusiastically. He began walking towards the farm's exit, Robin following along behind him. Once they were both gone, I entered my house.

The floor was made of wood, as were the walls. There was a TV that some would consider small, and a table and chair next to it. In the corner of the room there was a brick fireplace with firewood already placed inside. And in another corner, there was my bed.

The whole house was extremely small, with only one room. But, it would have to make do. It's not like I'd be having many people over; I don't even have any friends yet. I crawled into the soft bed, not bothering to change my clothes.

I closed my eyes, hoping that tomorrow would truly be the start of a new life, one where I can live more freely and be more… well… happy.

* * *

 **AN: This'll be updated as often as possible! Thanks for the read!**


	2. Chapter 2

It was now what would be my first full day in Stardew Valley, and I ignored my mess of a farm. Only so I could start meeting all of the townspeople. Mayor Lewis had sent me a letter saying that he wanted to talk to me this morning at 7:30, which was supposedly far before people started waking up.

I passed the bus stop, and continued going down the path. After walking for about ten minutes, I arrived in Pelican Town. It wasn't as small as I had assumed, but it was definitely smaller than the city.

The first thing I noticed was a clinic, attached to what seemed to be a market. And by the size of those buildings, they must also be houses. Straight down from there, was a saloon. There was one house a little to the right of that, and some more homes down to the left.

I ignored those, though, and went down to the house that was much bigger than the others. There were even fences around it, along with a nice bed of flowers in front. I knew this was Mayor Lewis' home; he had told me which house was his so I wouldn't barge into someone else's home uninvited.

I gave the door a knock. Not too loudly, but not too quietly, either. After a few seconds, the door opened and I was greeted by a familiar smile. "Hello, Harper! Come on in." Mayor Lewis moved out of the way and gestured that I come into his house. I did, and he shut the door behind me.

"So," he started. "Was your first night okay?"  
"Yeah. Still getting used to the change in environment, though." I smiled.

"It'll only get better. Promise."

I hope that's a promise he can manage to keep. I tend to get bored of new things fairly quickly.

"So, today you should be meeting everyone that lives here. Again, I assure you, they'll all be eager to meet a newcomer," said Lewis.

"I'm excited to meet all of them." I said. "How many are there?"

He smiled even brighter than he did when I first arrived, as if he really wanted me to ask that. "Twenty-eight," he said. "Some live here in the town, some closer to the mountains, and some by the beach. There are even a few people who live in the forest right underneath your farm. It shouldn't cause you too much trouble."

We continued with some more small talk, until it was about 8:30.

"Well, I think you should get going," Lewis said as he sat up and began walking to the door.

"Already? What time is it?"

"About 8:30. People will start getting up soon, so you should start getting ready to socialize with everyone."

"Oh, okay."

He opened the door for me, and I stepped outside. "Thank you," I said cheerfully. I then followed up with, "See you later!" After receiving a grin, I began walking away, and I heard Lewis shut his door.

It was about 8:50 now, and I was looking around, trying to decide on where to start. I set my eye on a house with a cream color and orange roof. This place also had a flowerbed in front, but it was miniscule compared to Mayor Lewis'.

I approached the house slowly, feeling myself start to become nervous. I had to keep assuring myself that it would be fine, because I was told that everyone was eager to meet me. A little screw up of mine shouldn't ruin anything completely.

I looked at my watch. 9:00. I knocked on the door leisurely, hoping someone would answer. I heard footsteps coming from inside the house, along with a faint "give me a second". I stood there patiently, and after about a minute, the door began to open. Standing before me was a girl, only slightly taller. She was wearing a cute red dress, and had flashy short blue hair.

"Oh!" The girl said suddenly. She quickly shifted from being casual to really enthusiastic. "I haven't seen you before! You must be the new farmer!" I smiled awkwardly. "Come on in," she said.

Her house was nice, and clearly much larger than mine. We sat down on the couch, and she seemed very happy to start talking with me. "My name's Emily," she said. "I have a sister here with me as well; her name's Haley."

"I'm Harper." I tried to speak in a way that suggested I wasn't as nervous. "Nice to meet you."

This girl, Emily, grinned at me. She then turned around and faced one of the doors. "Haley!" she yelled. "The new farmer is here! Come and meet her!"

This so called Haley took a few second to respond, but when she did, her bedroom door didn't fly open. She came into the room looking almost bored with my presence. "Hi," I said. "I'm Harper, the new farmer."

She smiled, though it didn't seem very genuine. "Oh, yeah. I heard about you coming here. Well then, I'm Haley, Emily's sister." She exited the situation quickly, and went to their kitchen. It wasn't separated by a wall or anything; it was only a few feet away. But just going over there made her seem distant.

Emily leaned over to me and whispered, "Sorry, it's always been hard for her to warm up to new people. If she says anything rude, don't let it get to you. She doesn't mean any of it, trust me."

I smiled knowing that I already had a girl warming up to me.

Emily moved away from my ear, beginning to speak at a regular volume. "I'd assume you're planning on meeting everybody else, too, so I don't want to keep you here for long."

"It's okay, really."

"No, you should probably get going. I'd love to have you for longer, but it's probably better for you to meet as many people as you can in your first day."

I sighed. "Okay", I said quietly as she led me to the door. I reluctantly left her house as she waved at me and said, "Go get em' out there!"

* * *

 **AN: Thank you to those who followed! The next chapter shouldn't take very long since I already started it. :)**


End file.
